Red Rhymes
by Koezh
Summary: A serial killer with a mysterious interest in Lisbon is on the loose...
1. One for Sorrow

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Mentalist, any of its characters and I make absolutely no money from this

**Author's Note:** A new story? I must be insane! The answer to that is probably. Anyway I wrote this awhile ago so its not that great but I wanted to something new to celebrate the season 3 premiere so here you are!

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Lisbon lay sprawled on her bed, sleeping reasonably peacefully in the darkness of the early hours of the morning before her phone rang out and sleepily she went to grab it.

"Lisbon?" she grumbled trying not to yawn as she tried to blink herself awake slightly more.

"_Ever heard the magpie song_?" a voice asked on the other end of the line.

"Err… What?" Lisbon mumbled scowling.

"_One for sorrow_

_Two for joy_

_Three for a girl_

_Four for a boy_

_Five for silver_

_Six for gold_

_Seven for a secret never to be told_," the stranger told her calmly, "_its all in the song Agent Lisbon_."

"I don't know who you are but you can't go around waking people up in the middle of the night to sing them nursery rhymes!" she yelled down the receiver angrily before hanging up and flopping back onto her bed.

Assuming it was just some stupid kids she closed her eyes and attempted to fall back asleep but was again distracted by the phone ringing, furiously she grabbed it.

"What did I just say?" Lisbon snapped down the phone, "leave me the hell alone or so I help me I will find you and throw your ass in jail!"

"_Is that really any way to speak to your boss_?" responded Hightower and Lisbon instantly felt her cheeks blushing in the darkness.

"I am so sorry… I didn't mean you… I thought you were someone else," Lisbon apologized stumbling over the words, "won't happen again."

"_I'm sure, now get up you have a case_," Hightower told her and preceded to give her the address, "_the girl's the AG's niece so I'll expect an update later on this morning_."

"Yes boss, " Lisbon agreed hanging up, asking to wait till later seemed pretty stupid if she wanted to keep her job.

Silently cursing her mistake she glanced at the clock reading 4:43am and sighed before dragging herself into the shower which she hoped would wake her up a bit more. Feeling slightly better she dressed and called the rest of her team to meet her at the address.

The drive was relatively boring before she pulled up outside the grand house, by now at least the sun was rising and its bright beams illuminated patches of darkness. It did little to improve her mood and her embarrassing mistake with Hightower. Her thoughts were interrupted by her cell ringing, which she answered readily.

"_Feeling less grouchy now the sun has risen_?" asked a stranger's voice, Lisbon scowled when she recognized it as the crank caller, "_I only want to wish you luck solving the case Agent Lisbon_."

"Bite me!" she snapped instantly hanging up on him, "stupid idiotic kids bothering…"

Her sentence trailed off when she realized what he'd actually said. How had he known she was on a case? How had he even known her name? She didn't know but she suddenly had a really bad feeling about this case.

Entering the building she noticed what she assumed was the victim's family, a middle-aged man was attempting to comfort a sobbing woman while a teenage girl was talking to three younger children, all of them looked sad and there eyes were red from crying. Shaking her head sadly she found her way to the front room where the victim lay, identical to the teenage girl.

Except this one was dead, her eyes were closed and she would have looked just like she was sleeping if not for the object protruding from her neck. It looked like an arrow shaft, which was weird enough, and had a black and white feather tied to the end of it. Her body was left sitting on the floor leaning against the wall with streams of blood running down from the wound.

"Look at her neck," pointed out Jane's voice and she spun immediately to see he had come up beside her, "looks like the killer tore off something from around her neck."

"Is that an arrow sticking out of her neck?" questioned Cho coming up beside Jane.

"Yep," confirmed Jane, "unusual murder weapon."

"What's the victim's name?" Lisbon asked.

"Myra Teresa Grant, aged 17," Cho answered, "wanna talk to the victim's family?"

"Yeah, and where are Rigsby and Van Pelt?" Lisbon replied still wondering if this had something to do with that mysterious crank caller.

"Not here yet. Want me to call them?" Cho asked in his usual deadpan manner.

"Yeah and tell them to go straight to the CBI, look into the victim's background stuff like that," Lisbon commanded to which he nodded and moved away to make the calls, she spied Jane over by the body sniffing it, "what are you doing?"

"Smell her mouth, " Jane offered to which Lisbon merely scowled, "it smells like chloroform."

"Interesting," Lisbon mused tiredly strolling back out into the corridor with the victim's family, "now come, we gotta talk to the victim's family. We're with the CBI, we need to ask you some questions."

"Okay," agreed the man wiping his eyes, "what do you want to know?"

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"Last night," he sniffed, "she wanted to go to bed early because of the swim meet tomorrow, she said goodnight to us around 11 and that was the last time we ever saw her."

"Who found her?" asked Jane curiously.

"I did," offered the victim's twin tearfully, Mary.

"Why did you come downstairs in the middle of the night?" he pressed.

"My alarm went off early for some reason and when I woke up there was a note saying to," Mary answered and a nearby officer showed them an evidence bag with a note reading: _GO DOWNSTAIRS. NOW._

"Nothing unusual?" Jane wondered aloud and the family all shook their heads.

"Did you ever hear the magpie song?" Lisbon asked abruptly gaining weird looks from everyone, including Jane.

"Like the nursery rhyme?" said the smallest boy.

"What does that have to do with anything?" demanded Mary.

"Never mind, thank you for your time," Lisbon told them quickly scuttling away outside, she let out a sigh before her phone rang again, "what?"

"_One for sorrow_," stated the stranger calmly.

"Who are you? Did you kill Myra?" Lisbon questioned worriedly but was answered only by a slight laugh, "what do you want?"

"_Its all in the song Agent Lisbon,_ " he repeated his earlier phrase, "_seven for a secret never to be told…"_


	2. Two for Joy

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Mentalist, any of its characters and I get no money from this either

**Author's Note: **Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, things are just crazy and the laptop is still screwy but for anyone still reading this, enjoy! And thanks to my amazing reviewers lucyyh, Helvetica Bold, avidfan23, In The Name, Jisbon4ever, funnygirlOoObroadwaybaby, Simonisthecutestmentalist and jisbon-sessed :)

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Lisbon opened her mouth to demand to know what he meant but he had already hung up on her, feeling a pit of dread welling in her gut she flipped her cell shut and glanced up at the crimson dawn, a sign of warning.

"Lisbon?" questioned Jane and she jumped at the sudden intrusion in her thoughts.

"What?" she asked instantly.

"You seem unusually on edge today, I know you're not a morning person but still," Jane commented, "what's wrong?"

"It's just…" she began rubbing her tired temple, "y'know the magpie song? One for sorrow etc. This guy keeps calling me and saying it but he knows my name and that I'm working on the case…"

"And you think its something to do with case?"

"I think he's the killer," Lisbon stated worriedly, "I know it sounds crazy but the way he acts…"

"It's not crazy Lisbon," Jane told her firmly feeling suddenly anxious for her safety, "I trust your judgment and if you're worried about it then it is something to be worried about."

"Thank you Jane," Lisbon said gratefully that he wasn't mocking her, "I'll head back to CBI now and ask Van Pelt to run a trace on the last call to my cell… The sooner we catch this guy the better."

"Be careful," he added nodding in agreement.

She headed back to her car with the intense feeling that she was being watched, it occurred to her that he must be watching her if he knew when she was at the crime scene. Slightly panicked she scanned around for anyone suspicious but all she saw were a few uniformed officers beside the front door and Jane wandering around looking at the house.

Shaking her head that she was just being paranoid she drove straight to the CBI and into the bullpen where she was grateful to see Van Pelt and Rigsby had arrived and were tapping away on their computers.

"Hey boss," they greeted her in unison smiling brightly.

"Van Pelt I need you to ran a trace on my cell phone," Lisbon announced tossing her phone to the rookie, "find out what the last number was to call me. I think it was the killer."

"Wait. What?" muttered Rigsby scowling with confusion while Van Pelt began working on it, "the killer just randomly called you?"

"I think he's taunting us with nursery rhymes or it could just be a crank caller, either way we have to find him," Lisbon explained tiredly deciding she needed her morning coffee.

"I don't think it's a crank caller," Van Pelt stated worriedly, "the number that calls you belongs to the cell phone of our victim."

"So he kills her and takes her cell phone to ring me… that's new," Lisbon said half to herself, "can you find out where the cell phone is now?"

"If he calls you again."

"Look who finally decided to show up for work today," Cho offered deadpan entering the bullpen with Jane as the other two agents turned bright red, "by the way about the case, the killer took the vic's necklace. A trinket she wore around her neck as well as-"

"Her cell phone," Rigsby finished, "maybe he took it so we wouldn't track the calls back to him?"

"That was stupid, we can still trace Myra's phone to his location," Van Pelt said scowling, "assuming he calls again."

"He will," Jane announced from his couch where he now lay, "he's not done yet."

Lisbon opened her mouth to reply but closed it abruptly as her cell phone started ringing, 5 pairs of eyes turned anxiously towards it and Lisbon swallowed as Van Pelt solemnly handed it to her before she flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"_I knew you'd be more well mannered after the sun rose_," the caller told her cheerfully.

"Feel like answering my questions yet?" Lisbon wondered nervously watching as Van Pelt furiously tapped away at the keyboard.

"_You should know who I am_," he stated bitterly, "_clearly your memory is almost as bad as your crime fighting skills_."

"What?" scoffed Lisbon indignantly feeling offended, "you think I'm a bad cop?"

"_You are a terrible agent, can't even close a case without the help of that supposed wonder boy Jane_," the caller taunted, "_even now you need my help to catch me_."

"What are you talking about?"

"_You can only find me because I'm calling you_," he sneered, "_you don't think I realize you're tracing this call? I hope you've had your morning coffee because today is going to be a very long day_."

With that he hung up on her again and Lisbon was left frowning, clearly he felt like she'd wronged him somehow but his voice didn't sound familiar and nothing about him rang any bells.

"Did you get an address?" Lisbon asked pulling herself away from her thoughts.

"1180 Fulton Avenue," the rookie answered while the team began jumping to their feet.

"Agent Lisbon, a word?" questioned Higtower who Lisbon noticed was now standing in the doorway.

"Let's go," she commanded quickly, "I'll fill you in later boss," she called back to Hightower.

They reached the car and sped away to the location provided, she tried to shake off the feeling that this was too easy but couldn't. Jane's brooding expression only seemed to confirm her fears, that he'd be long gone by the time they got there. It was too easy and besides, he had clearly wanted her to trace the call, which screamed he wasn't going to be waiting for them, especially since he was only on line two of the song. He'd either led her into a trap, or something he wanted her to find. Silently she cursed how she was thinking like Jane as Rigsby pulled up outside the address, striding over to the door she noticed a note like the one left to Myra's twin: FIRST DOOR ON THE LEFT.

Drawing her gun readily as did Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt they knocked on the door loudly calling they were CBI. When no answer came they hurried the Landlord to open it, when the little old man had finally found the correct key the door swung open to reveal the second victim.

Cursing silently Lisbon launched a frustrated kick at the wall before her cell phone broke the silence. Shakily she holstered her weapon and flipped open the phone with a feeling of dread.

"_Two for joy…_"


	3. Three for a Girl

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it, never will

**Author's Note: **Glad to know people still like this story! Anyway thanks so much to Miau, jisbon-sessed, Mia66. LittleMender and Jisbon4ever for reviewing :)

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"What do you want from me?" Lisbon demanded to which the caller laughed, "why are you killing these people?"

"_I'm not killing them, you are_," he snapped firmly, "_it's all your fault Agent Lisbon. You made me like this, now you can't stop me and you don't even remember me! But I remember you, I remember what you said and what you did. This is all you're fault_."

"I'm sorry?" she offered worriedly trying to figure out how in the world this could possibly be her fault.

"_You will be_.

_Eeny, meeny, miny, moe_

_Catch the victim by the toe_

_If she screams, won't let her go_

_Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, and she's it_," chanted the caller in a way that put her nerves on edge, "_can you save her in time? No_."

"Damn it," Lisbon cursed as the caller hung up on her.

"Don't worry we'll get him," Van Pelt offered kindly.

"What's the victim's name?" Rigsby asked of the Landlord.

"Who?" the man questioned creasing his wrinkled brow into a frown.

"The man who lives in this apartment," Rigsby explained.

"Owen Evanson," answered the Landlord, "don't know much about him, quiet, keeps to himself… Who are you again?"

"Van Pelt, go back to CBI look up anything about the victim," Lisbon commanded asserting control, "try find a connection between him and our first vic. Cho, Rigsby, canvas the neighbors to see if they saw or heard anything."

Her agents jumped into action while she glanced at the body, he was a middle-aged man with balding hair. The same kind of arrow protruded from his neck with 2 more feathers tied to the end which she was certain were magpie feathers, nothing unusual about him… aside from his right ear, which looked like an earring had been pulled off recently.

"Smells like chloroform too," Jane commented stepping up beside her," he chloroforms them to subdue them, takes their cell phone and a piece of jewelry, then stabs them through the neck with an arrow. Fascinating."

"It's not fascinating, it's sick," Lisbon complained, "and apparently its my fault."

"What?"

"He says I made him into a killer," Lisbon informed him guiltily, "but I have no idea who he is, yet he seems to know me."

"Look at me Lisbon," Jane whispered and she glanced into his reassuring eyes, "this is not your fault. You are not making him murder these people; he is clearly deranged and is lashing out. It is not your fault. Say it."

"Say what?"

"Say 'it is not my fault.'"

"It is not my fault," she stated half-heartedly.

"Make you feel better?" Jane wondered offering her a smile.

"A bit," she shrugged, "but catching this creep would make me feel even better."

"Nothing with the neighbors boss," Rigsby announced as he and Cho returned, "most were either asleep or not home, the few around didn't see or hear anything."

"And forensics called back," Cho added, "the arrow could've come from a million places, dead end there, the feather was a magpie feather but they're not hard to get a hold of either and Myra had chloroform in her system, but anyone can make that at home or get it from schools or colleges, stuff like that."

"So we have basically nothing?"

"We have basically nothing," Cho agreed, "killer's smart."

"Okay… Cho and Rigsby go ask around see if there's any traffic cams or anything nearby and expand the search of neighbors to see if they saw anything, come back to CBI when forensics arrives. The rest of us will go back go back to CBI and look into the recent activities of our victims and see if anything comes up."

They all nodded in agreement and broke off to obey their leader, Lisbon was very distracted as she drove stopping briefly at a coffee cart before reaching CBI. Jane immediately flopped onto his couch while she strode over to Van Pelt.

"Found anything?"

"Yeah, killer did us a favor killing Evanson," Van Pelt replied, "guy was a convicted pedophile. Bastard preyed on foster kids, a 9-year-old girl Teresa Mathis testified against him and he was sentenced to a decade in prison, only got out last month. She'll probably be jumping for joy when she hears he's dead."

"A-ha!" Jane exclaimed sitting up grinning, "that's the connection. Myra was popular and loved, people will be sorrowful that she's dead while Owen was a pedophile, people will be filled with joy at his death."

"Going by that logic his next victim will be a girl," Lisbon mused.

"That doesn't really narrow down our victim list," Van Pelt commented sadly, "half the population of California could be next… By the way boss, Hightower wants to see you."

Nodding vaguely Lisbon headed to Hightower's office, politely rapping on the door until she was given permission to enter. Hightower was sitting at her desk flipping through paperwork but promptly dropped it and indicated Lisbon sit down and fill her in which she obliged.

"Well…" Hightower began after stewing over Lisbon's words for a few minutes, "I'm taking you off this case."

"What? Why?" demanded Lisbon instantly indignant.

"You're too personally linked with this case," Hightower explained, "the rest of your team can carry on working on it but you are off this case."

"That's not fair boss," Lisbon objected, "besides, he keeps calling me. I don't think he'll want to speak to anyone else."

"Well he's going to have too, we don't let killers pick their investigators and I need this guy stopped fast so the AG will get off my back. We don't indulge murderers at the CBI, my decision is final."

Lisbon opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to think of a good protest but Hightower's mind seemed made up, maybe she was right anyway, Lisbon wondered, Jane had trouble keeping in check when Red John was involved so maybe it was best for her to step back. It didn't stop her from having the feeling that Hightower was making a terrible mistake.

"Come in," Hightower called and Lisbon realized someone had knocked on the door, Cho entered a second later, "Cho, you now have the lead on this case. Due to the killer's… attachment to Agent Lisbon I think its best. Any complaints?"

"No," Cho stated but gave Lisbon an apologetic look while speaking.

"Find anything useful at Evanson's place?"

"Nothing, guy's a ghost. No surveillance and no one saw anything."

Before Hightower could compose a reply Lisbon's cell phone rang out, instantly she grabbed it.

"_We really must think of a better way for you to find the next victim,_" the caller greeted her brightly, "_I gave you longer this time and you didn't do anything_."

"Try just giving us the address and give me a break, most murders wait more than five seconds before killing again," Lisbon snapped in reply darting into the bullpen with Cho and Hightower at her heels before motioning for Van Pelt to trace the call.

"_I already told you, its your fault,_" the caller stated without remorse, "_I do so enjoy talking with you though, its sad you still believe you're innocent and its sad you're so incompetent_"

"Put it on speaker," hissed Hightower and Lisbon reluctantly did so.

"Well I don't enjoy talking to you and besides I have some bad news for you," Lisbon told him nervously, "I'm off the case."

"_What? NO! I will not allow it_!"

"Well tough its happening," Hightower informed him coldly.

"_Madeline Hightower I presume?_" the caller snapped angrily, rage seething with every syllable, "_you will put Agent Teresa Lisbon back on the case… Or face the consequences of your actions_."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Hightower conversed blandly, "but I am not risking my agents for your amusement, Lisbon is off the case."

"_You want to fight dirty? So be it_."

With that the line went dead, Lisbon still had a horrible feeling he would make good on his threat but Hightower seemed totally unfazed as Van Pelt reeled off the address. She failed not to feel rejected as Hightower and her team left without her, saddling up with only sympathetic glances for her.

Sighing as she fought her brain for anyone in her past who might be the killer but failed miserably to come up with any suspects and instead took the time to nibble on some breakfast in the kitchenette while mulling over the case, it was really getting under her skin and the guy really seemed to blame her but when had she ever wronged someone that badly they'd start killing people?

She shook her head and wandered back into the bullpen, hoping she was wrong about Hightower incurring the killer's wrath. She stopped in her tracks when she heard her phone on her desk ringing, suddenly apprehensive she put the receiver up to her ear.

"_Three for a girl," _the caller told her calmly.

"I'm not on the case anymore," Lisbon forced herself to say trying not to wonder who the victim was.

"_Oh ye_s, _I'll change that soon and __tell Hightower:_

_Bye, baby Bunting_

_Mommy's gone a-hunting_

_Gone to get a rabbit skin_

_To wrap the baby Bunting in," _the killer sang.

"What are you talking about?" wondered Lisbon.

"_Can you sing another one?" _came the happy voice of a little girl.

"_Sing Old McDonald had a farm!" _begged another child's voice, a young boy.

"Oh god no," Lisbon gasped, "please tell me those aren't Hightower's children?"

"_If wishes were horses then beggars would ride," _the caller stated smugly, "_kids, say goodbye to your Mommy's friend now."_

"_Goodbye Agent Lisbon!" _the kids chorused in unison, " _and tell Mommy she's the bestest for letting us go to Disney World," _added the boy cheerfully.

With that the killer hung up on her.


	4. Four for a Boy

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Mentalist and I get no money from this. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada. I'll stop now

**Author's Note: **I am spoiling you guys with updates so fast but while the laptops being good I might as well take advantage of it, right? And as ever thank you so much to my amazing reviewers Jisbon4ever, TNBC, cherryblossomcanopy, jisbon-sessed, funnygirlOoObroadwaybaby and LAurore for reviewing :)

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Lisbon just sat there for a moment struggling to believe that the psychopath had gone as far to kidnap Hightower's children, although remembering what Red John had done to get Jane back on the case she was lucky that they were still alive, at least for now.

She punched in Hightower's number but it went to voicemail, she tried again and again and again but Hightower refused to pick up. Angrily she threw down the receiver and tried to think of a way to save those kids, clearly they were actually enjoying themselves and didn't realize what the man was a killer and she had no idea what he was going to do to them. Had he already called Hightower to blackmail her? Or worse, was he going to kill them as part of his twisted rhyme? With a sickening logic it occurred to her that the next victim needed to be a boy and Hightower's son…

Violently she redialed Hightower who continued to ignore her, she could almost scream in frustration as she decided to try her team. Forcing herself to be calm she rang Jane's cell and to her immense relief he answered.

"_Hey Lisbon_," Jane greeted her solemnly, "_bored of Hightower ignoring you? You should be grateful you're not here, victim's only 12."_

"Forget that Jane!" she interjected, "he just called me. He has got Hightower's children with him."

"What?"

"He has taken Hightower's children," she repeated.

"_That is so not good_," Jane said worriedly, "_he needs a boy for his next victim and Hightower has a son…"_

"I know, I know Jane," Lisbon sighed tiredly, "he didn't definitively say but if Hightower gives me back the case, do you think he'd let them live?"

"_I hope so… But as I said, he's deranged and feels no remorse for his killings because he completely blames you so I doubt he'd hesitate to kill them_."

"Go tell Hightower, I'll wait here and see if he calls back," she told him desperately feeling slightly useless at this point as Jane agreed and hung up.

She stood up and paced around wildly trying to think of anyone she thought might be the killer but failed miserably as she resumed pacing waiting for the phone to ring. Time literally dragged by as she strode around frantically searching for answers and fighting off irritation at not being able to do anything. Eventually Hightower did return along with Jane and Cho.

"Any news?" Hightower demanded.

"I was hoping you'd heard something," Lisbon replied looking at her bedraggled boss with sympathy, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to bring them back!" Hightower yelled, "we have to find that psychotic son of a bitch before he murders my babies!"

"For what it's worth they were fine when I spoke to him," Lisbon offered trying to calm her boss down.

"They're so brave," Hightower sighed.

"Actually they think he's taking them to Disney land…" Lisbon's sentence trailed off as her cell phone started ringing, which Hightower still had and answered instantly.

"Give me back my children!" Hightower screamed down the line and after a second switched it to speakerphone and held it out for them all to hear, "its on bloody speakerphone."

"_Good. Now I want Agent Lisbon back on the case_," the killer stated calmly.

"Or else?" Cho wondered.

"_Or down will come baby, cradle and all_," he sung sweetly before instantly snapping to a darker tone, "_anyone else in CBI want to ask pointless and menial questions_?"

"Lisbon's back on the case," Hightower agreed hurriedly, "just give them back to me!"

"_It's not quite that simple_," the killer continued and Lisbon could hear the smirk in his voice, "_you still need to suffer the consequences of your actions, Hightower_."

"I've suffered enough!" Hightower shrieked, "they're innocent children. Let them go."

"_I'll give you a chance_," the killer offered, "_everyone gets a chance to make things right? Don't they Agent Lisbon?"_

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Lisbon muttered half to herself.

"I want proof of life," Hightower demanded.

"_Agent Lisbon's already been given it_," the killer snapped, "_do all cops have such terrible memories_?"

"I don't," Jane stated.

"_You're not a cop_," retorted the killer, "_just come to South Lake Tahoe_."

"Where in South Lake Tahoe?"

" _That's all I'm giving you_. _South Lake Tahoe_," said the killer simply, "_run, run as fast as you can, you can't save him, he's a dead man._"

The second he hung up Hightower practically flung Lisbon's cell phone at her before stalking away in the direction of the elevator with the rest of them at her heels as they raced to the van and sped off.

"So tell me about the third victim," Lisbon asked growing bored of the brooding silence, disturbed only by Cho who was talking on his cell with the FBI who he was asking to but out an amber alert on the missing kids.

"A girl, 12," Jane answered shrugging sadly, "Nicole Jarvis, only daughter of Teresa and Mark Jarvis who's a defense attorney. Was sick off school with flu, chloroformed her then stabbed through the neck with an arrow. Three feathers on the end and he took her bracelet."

"Where were the parents?"

"Father left for work, Mother was grocery shopping… Came home and found her house covered in police tape," Jane continued sadly, "I'm more concerned with trying to figure out how you know him."

"How I know him?"

"When he mentioned about a chance to make things right, he was clearly quoting that you had said that to him," Jane explained, "therefore you must have had a spoken conversation with him at least once at some point."

"That's not exactly much to go on," Lisbon admitted feeling another pang of guilt, "it's just one of those generic cop sayings you use to get answers… I've said it before to lots of criminals, witnesses and victims."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Jane sighed, "but don't worry, we'll get him."

"I just hope we can get to South Lake Tahoe in time."

"I wish I could say I had a good feeling about this," Jane stated sadly, "but he has an obvious head start and I don't think he's very mentally stable right now."

"You can say that again," Lisbon said bitterly, "what's with the obsession with nursery rhymes?"

"Too many possible scenarios to bore you with," Jane answered and the pair fell silent.

The drive was a long one, taking them almost 2 hours before they reached the place. It was actually a nice looking town and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, for a fleeting moment Lisbon panicked that he'd only wanted them here because he knew how long it would take them to get back which gave him more than enough time to have killed Hightower's children by now. She was about to voice her concerns when they drove past a church, 'St Theresa's Catholic Church' with a note pinned to the door with 'CBI' written on it.

Hightower practically slammed the car to a halt and bolted to the note, grabbing it and scanning through it for a few seconds before angrily throwing it away and pushing open the door. Lisbon's attention drifted as she picked up the paper of the ground and read it:

_Poor Maddy is a-weeping,  
A-weeping, a-weeping,  
Poor Maddy is a-weeping  
On a bright summer's day_

_Why are you weeping,  
Weeping, weeping,  
Why are you weeping,  
On a bright summer's day?_

_She's weeping for a loved one,  
A loved one, a loved one,  
She's weeping for a loved one,  
On a bright summer's day?_

_You wanted to fight dirty. So be it_

Lisbon gulped nervously as she handed the note to Jane, watching as her boss cried while punching the wall. Her cell phone rang and she solemnly answered it while slowly wandering into the church, before her in front of the altar was a young boy no older than ten. The arrow with four feathers tied to the end stuck out from his neck while his remained gently closed, never to open again. She could clearly see the blatant resemblance to Hightower, even if she had never met the boy before and sorrow filled her as she remembered his joy from merely a few hours earlier.

"_Four for a boy."_


	5. Five for Silver

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own the mentalist, no money from this blah, blah, blah and I don't own the rhymes I use either

**Author's Note:** Not the best chapter this, sorry and I'm sorry for killing her son but that's what the killer did. Thanks to Jisbon4ever, StealthXHuntress and LAurore for reviewing the last chapter

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"Feel good about yourself?" Lisbon demanded of him bitterly, "murdering an innocent child?"

"_I told you already its your fault he's dead, not mine,_" the killer answered impassively, "_quite sad too as he seemed like such a good kid, pity when children pay for the mistakes of their parents… But look on the bright side, Hightower's not going to be in any state to keep you off the case now."_

"I am going to hunt you down and make sure you get the death penalty for this," Lisbon promised quietly.

"_I don't mind,_" he said calmly to her surprise, "_its not like you've actually made any progress catching me, have you? You must be Thursday's child."_

"Is Hightower's daughter even alive?" Lisbon forced herself to ask.

"_For now."_

"Why should I believe you?" Lisbon spat furiously wishing she could jump through the cell phone and strangle the man on the other end.

"_Lily, fancy some ice cream_?" the killer asked sweetly of someone.

"_Yes please!"_ squealed the girl's voice form earlier and Lisbon could almost have collapsed with relief.

"_Come quick enough and she might live longer_," the killer stated darkly.

"What do you mean my that?"

"_Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home_

_Her house in on fire,_

_Her children shall burn,_" he sang cheerfully, "_no, but seriously Lily's fine. If Hightower doesn't interfere with your case anymore she might see her family again_."

"I'm sure she won't interfere," Lisbon offered, "please just let Lily go."

"But she is so excited about going to Disney land," the killer mock protested, "just trust me, I'm not going to go back on my word. Not like you."

"What did I do exactly?" Lisbon moaned, " what the hell did I ever do to offend you?"

"_You didn't offend me_," he snapped angrily, "_you destroyed me life, I lost everything because of you and you don't even remember me!"_

"I'm sorry?"

"_No you're not, but you're starting to be,_" the killer hissed, "_do you know the muffin man?"_

"Would you stop with the bloody nursery rhymes?" Lisbon screeched, "tell me in non sing-song English, what the hell do you want from me?"

"Is that the killer?" demanded Hightower suddenly and Lisbon realized she and Jane were both staring at her and that the killer had hung up on her.

"It was but he's hung up on me now," Lisbon answered nervously, "I have some good news though, Lily's still alive."

"Our priority is to find her," Hightower announced wiping her eyes, "we have to find her, nothing else matters."

"Amber alert's already been issued," Cho informed us deadpan, "we should get back to Sacramento to track him if he calls again."

"The only reason he'd call is if he'd killed someone else," Hightower snapped suddenly looking worried, "if he killed… if he…"

"Lily can't be his next victim," Jane told us, "he or she has to have something to do with silver."

"That is so unbelievably useful to us," Cho snipped sarcastically.

"Let's just back to CBI and try figure out where silver comes into it, could be someone who works with silver or has the last name silver or a silver medallist," Lisbon said taking charge.

"That sounds like a long shot," Hightower complained, "and I don't want to leave Ben here by himself, he doesn't even have his lucky ring on."

"Well you and Cho stay, we'll do everything we can to find Lily," Lisbon told her gently, "you have my word we'll get her back."

Hightower looked at her solemnly for a minute before nodding quietly in agreement, much to Lisbon's relief. She went back to the van with Jane who she let drive, what choice did she have? She'd need to be able to answer her cell phone in case the killer called her again.

"What I don't get is why didn't the priest call it in?" Lisbon wondered trying to break through the guilt hanging in the silent air.

"Because he was dead, shot through the head," Jane answered, "you didn't actually go into the church but he was lying there dead. Walked in on the murder and died quickly."

"If he has a gun why the hell does he stab them through the neck with arrows?" Lisbon wondered to which Jane shrugged, "I _hate_ this case."

"It really isn't your fault Lisbon."

"You don't know that," Lisbon snapped, "I don't know that. I don't even know who the hell this guy is, or what I apparently did to destroy his life."

"Lisbon you didn't kill those people," Jane told her firmly, "he's just trying to get under your skin."

"Well he's succeeding and we're running out of time and… by the way, where the hell are Van Pelt and Rigsby?"

"Someone had to wait for the coroner and Rigsby was sent to find out how he keeps getting past the alarm systems," Jane explained, "he picks the locks but the alarms don't go off."

Conversation trailed off and they continued to drive in silence for the remainder of the journey back to CBI. Lisbon wasn't exactly enjoying the apprehensive silence but she was too worried about Lily to bother trying to think or talk about anything else, they had to find her. And then there was the fact she had somehow destroyed his life yet she hadn't the faintest clue who he was or how she had managed to do that and until she knew what their connection was she was left with the crushing weight that maybe she was to blame for these murders.

Her thoughts were distracted only by the ringing of her cell phone, she stared at it in her hand for a dread filled second before flipping it open and was flooded with an unbelievable amount of relief to hear Rigsby's voice on the line and not the killer's.

"Rigsby, I am so glad it is you," she greeted him warmly.

"_Yeah, hey boss I found out why the alarms don't go off_," Rigsby explained, "_he hacked into the alarm system from a public computer and reset it with the base code, type in 0000 and the alarm deactivated_."

"You can hack things like that?"

"_Yep and even better, the public library has security footage which I'm combing through now_," Rigsby continued clearly pleased with himself, "_soon we should have a picture of our killer."_

"Excellent work Rigsby!" Lisbon exclaimed pleased they might finally have a lead on the case, "keep at that, we should be at CBI soon."

Feeling an adrenaline spike as hope shot through her she excitedly told Jane about their lead before they finally reached the CBI. She strode confidently into the building where Rigsby was scanning through footage, there was a surprising amount of people using the library however.

"Hey boss?" Van Pelt said timidly, "I might have something too."

"What?"

"Well… All the victim's I've noticed have some connection to your name Teresa and I was trying to figure out how the killer knew to kill the second victim, Evanson."

"What do you mean?" Lisbon wondered.

"Teresa Mathis' name was never given to the press," Van Pelt explained, "he'd have to have known her at the time, he was either a friend or maybe one of her foster brothers. I've been trying to get a list of names in case you recognize any of them."

"Good work, both of you," Lisbon complimented feeling proud of her team as they might finally have something.

"You don't think its weird?" Jane asked suddenly.

"What?"

"That he hasn't called with his next victim already, he's had plenty of time to have killed his next victim but he hasn't," Jane told her scowling, "did he say something to you the last time he called?"

"He was trying to tell me about the muffin man," Lisbon shrugged, "I am so sick of nursery rhymes right now."

"The muffin man who lives on Drury lane?" Jane wondered to which Lisbon shot him a dark look, "is there a Drury lane in Sacramento?"

"Err…" muttered Van Pelt tapping away, "no… but there is a Drury court."

"And you think he killed someone who lives in Drury court?" Lisbon wondered doubtfully.

"He wanted to recite the muffin man for a reason," Jane retorted, "we could at least check it out."

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh? Van Pelt, what's Uh-oh for?" Lisbon demanded worriedly.

"I was just looking at the residents, one of them is named Teresa Starling," Van Pelt explained, "she owns a jewelry store 'Starling Silver.'"

"Okay, me and Jane will check it out," Lisbon agreed as she Jane headed for the elevator, "you guys stay and work on those leads."

She let Jane drive again, feeling her hope was stunted by the fact that he might already have killed again already, couldn't he at least try to pace himself? She hoped like crazy that they were wrong about his next victim or that maybe he'd still be there when the arrived, she really did not want another death on her conscious.

They pulled up in Drury court and Lisbon's jaw dropped in shock as she saw a little girl sitting on the step outside one of the houses. She had large amber eyes with her dark hair parted into pigtails, she was smiling as she cuddled a stuffed dog and chatted happily away to it. Lisbon and Jane exchanged looks as they calmly walked over to the little girl, she stopped talking to the dog and beamed up at them.

"Hello," she greeted them happily and Lisbon recognized her voice from over the phone, feeling unbelievably relieved that she was okay Lisbon sank to her knees beside her.

"We have been looking for you," Jane told her smiling warmly as he spoke, it never ceased to amaze her how great he was with kids, "you must be Lily."

"Yes," Lily answered nodding, "and you must be Mommy's friends, I was waiting for you."

"Really? You were?" Lisbon said scowling.

"Yes, I was 'posed to wait here," Lily explained, "I have a very ultra special mega super important job to do."

"What's that?" Jane wondered.

"I'm 'posed to tell Teresa Lisbon something," Lily told them, "that's you right?"

"Yes that's me."

"Five is for silver," Lily stated then giggled, "from the magpie song. He also said to say well done for finding me, I said you would cuz Mommy is so good at playing hide-and-go-seek."

"Did he buy you that dog?" Jane asked gently.

"Yep!" Lily exclaimed delightedly, "he gotted it for me cuz I was super clever at singing nursery rhymes, we went into this big toy store and he said I could pick whatever I wanted."

"Well that was nice of him," Jane commented neutrally.

"What was his name?" Lisbon demanded.

"You want to know his name?" Lily repeated still smiling as Lisbon nodded her head, Lily leaned forward to whisper it into her ear, "seven for a secret never to be told."


	6. Six for Gold

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the mentalist, get no money from this etc.

**Author's Note: **Okay so here is the much awaited next chapter, would have updated yesterday but its like twice as long as my usual chapters so give me a break! It's the penultimate chapter where a lot happens so please give me more than 2 reviews guys, btw thanks a million to the amazing Jisbon4ever and LAurore for reviewing :)

* * *

"Look Lily, it is really, really, really important that we know his name," Lisbon pleaded with her.

"I'm not telling you," Lily stated stubbornly folding her arms, "a secret is a secret and asides, he said you knew him."

"Yes but-"

"Lisbon, clearly she is not gonna give him up that easily," Jane hissed in her ear, "she's just spent half of the day being brainwashed by a psychopath who apparently is great with kids."

"She knows his name and what he looks like," Lisbon hissed back feeling frustrated Lily wouldn't talk to them.

"Let me talk to her, go see if there is actually a body inside," Jane whispered back as Lily scowled.

"Stop whispering, it's not nice," Lily complained.

"We're very sorry," Jane apologized, "but it's a secret what we're talking about and a secret is a secret. Now why don't you and I go over there while Teresa goes into the house for a minute."

"Well… okay but not for long," Lily hesitantly agreed, "I have to stay here for when he comes back to me. Then we're going to Disney land!"

"I don't think he's actually coming back for you," Lisbon told her,

"Yes he is!" Lily protested angrily, "he just had some stuff to do, then he would get Ben back from the church and we could all go to Disney land."

"Look Lily, he's a very bad man and we need to find him," Lisbon said gently feeling a pang of sadness that she didn't know about her brother, "he lied to you."

"You're the liar," Lily announced, "he's the nicest person ever, he bought me Doggy and we went for ice cream and we sang nursery rhymes and he let me play on his cell phone and he's going to take us to Disney land!"

"Yeah okay," Jane muttered taking Lily's hand and leading her away from the door.

Lisbon sighed tiredly and rubbed her temples, which were giving her the beginnings of a headache, she reached out and turned the handle of the door, which surprisingly wasn't locked to reveal the fifth victim. Same MO as all the others, sitting opposite her with an arrow through the neck with five feathers this time. She was sure some item of jewelry had been taken from the victim and if she could be bothered to go approach she was sure to smell chloroform like all the others.

Guiltily Lisbon wondered what kind of person the woman had been, it was clearly her fault she was dead along with all the others. Lily thought the killer was the nicest person ever so maybe whatever she had done had screwed him up so bad he was murdering these people. He was right about making her feel sorry, she had no idea what had happened but she was sorry, she was so sorry.

Feeling numb she called the team to fill them in on finding the victim, she was still relieved at Lily being alive but it made her despair Lily would never see her brother again and that in some way this was her fault, even if she wasn't the one killing them. Sighing again as she finished making the calls and went over to Jane and Lily.

"Hey Lisbon," Jane greeted her, "I take it…"

"Yes, I've already called it in," Lisbon answered and Jane gave her a sympathetic glance, "having fun chatting over here?"

"Yes, Lily was telling me about the amazing cell phone her nameless friend has," Jane explained standing and moving her to one side to speak to her more privately, "an iPhone."

"So?"

"He's used Myra's and Evanson's cell phones to call you, correct?"

"Yes, duh," Lisbon snapped as it was so obvious, it was why they couldn't trace the calls back to his name.

"Neither of them have iPhones," Jane explained quietly, "none of the victim's had iPhones henceforth…"

"He owns an iPhone himself but just hasn't been using it," Lisbon finished, "well that's not surprising."

"He was using it," Jane continued, "whenever it beeped she had to give it back to him, he looked at a map on it and then rang you with a different cell phone."

"That's how he knows when to call me, he's tracking me with GPS," Lisbon concluded worriedly, "he is one smart son of a bitch, I'll give him that… Not that I'm not grateful but why did he let Lily go?"

"I don't know," Jane shrugged looking anxious, "but he does nothing without a reason, he has been planning this for a long time and while Hightower's involvement has screwed up his plans slightly he's still on some kind of schedule."

"That's what scares me," Lisbon admitted.

"We will catch him Lisbon," Jane promised firmly.

"I know, I just wonder how many more people will die before then."

They both fell silent and Jane wondered back over to Lily to try and gleam some useful information from her while Lisbon stood wading in guilt as she waited for forensics and the coroner to arrive, which they eventually did. No foreign DNA, no fingerprints as with the other crime scenes, the victim's necklace was missing and they found a GPS tracker under Lisbon's car.

"They didn't find anything useful did they?" Jane wondered coming back over to her with Lily in tow.

"They found the GPS tracker but nothing useful no," Lisbon answered tiredly, "let's head back to CBI and see if Van Pelt or Rigsby have had any luck."

"I'll meet you there, someone has to take Lily to a hospital and make sure she's okay and I've convinced her to let me," Jane informed her in a whisper, "I wouldn't put it past him to have poisoned her."

Lisbon nodded in agreement, giving Jane her keys and hitching a ride with forensics back to CBI.

"Any luck?" she asked of Van Pelt and Rigsby as she entered the bullpen.

"Not yet, there's a surprising number of people who use the library," Rigsby replied rubbing his eyes, tired from staring at grainy footage, "and there's only a camera at the main area not pointed towards the computers but we have about 20 suspects so far."

"I got nothing either," Van Pelt sighed, "a lot of red tape about giving out names for foster kids."

"Why don't we just ask Mathis is she remembers their names?" Lisbon suddenly realized as if it was obvious, "its not like we have anything to lose."

"I already called her in," Van Pelt announced cheerily, "she should be here soon."

"Great," Lisbon told the rookie giving her a smile as she slumped into a chair, "it's the closest we've had to a lead on this whole case."

After a few irritating minutes of waiting while Lisbon drummed her fingers onto the desk while Rigsby and Van Pelt worked, a young woman walked nervously into the bullpen, she reminded Lisbon of a lost deer but was the right age to be Mathis.

"Are you Teresa Mathis?" Lisbon questioned moving forwards to greet her.

"Yes, an Agent Van Pelt wanted to speak to me about Owen Evanson?" the girl replied worriedly.

"Yes, please take a seat," Lisbon nodded her forcing a smile and grabbing a nearby chair for her to sit on within earshot of Van Pelt and Rigsby, "I am Agent Teresa Lisbon and these are Rigsby and Van Pelt."

"Hi," Mathis greeted them still looking afraid, "by the way I didn't kill him, I'm glad he's dead but I swear I didn't kill him."

"We know," Lisbon affirmed deciding not to waste any time she dived right in, "but we believe the killer had to know you at the time you were attacked. I know this may sound really strange but it's important, were you particularly close to anybody who had a thing for nursery rhymes? A foster brother or friend maybe?"

"We were kids, everybody liked nursery rhymes," Mathis answered shrugging, "what's nursery rhymes got to do with a murder?"

"Everything," Lisbon informed her darkly, "now please, answer the question."

"Well… I was close to one of my foster brothers," Mathis offered biting her lip, "but he wouldn't kill anyone, he was a good person."

"Just give us his name, please," Lisbon begged desperately.

"Quinn," Mathis stated, "Quinlan Arrow."

"Know him boss?" Rigsby questioned instantly while Van Pelt began tapping away at her computer.

"Yes," Lisbon answered scowling as she remembered the case but was confused as she found it hard to believe he would be a killer, "his father was a violent drunk, one day his mother snapped and stabbed him to death… the fatal wound was through the neck but… why would he kill those people? His mother should have got self defense, how did he even get in foster care?"

"The judge decided it was vigilante justice," Van Pelt explained reading from the screen, "Maryanne Arrow got manslaughter… and killed herself 2 years into her sentence."

"He was very upset about that but I didn't know she died," Mathis added and their eyes snapped back to her, "he always said that the police betrayed him and destroyed his life, he was very close to his Mom. The only possession he had was a book of nursery rhymes…"

"That she used to read to him every night," Lisbon finished recalling what he'd told her.

"Yes… but I still can't believe he would kill anyone," Mathis stated firmly, "he was a good person, he was always kind to me even after… I was attacked… he still liked me and he was so great with all the little ones, he behaved and got really good grades in school."

"People change," Van Pelt stated sadly, "hey boss… the judge who presided over his mother's case is named Arnold Gold… and he's originally from Theresa, Wisconsin… and he was reported missing an hour ago."

"Shit," exclaimed Lisbon.

"We're thinking he's our next victim?" Rigsby questioned.

"Maybe Quinn's innocent," Mathis protested, "I know him, he's not a murderer."

"Have you spoken to him recently?" Van Pelt inquired curiously.

"No, in foster care you get bounced around like yo-yos… I haven't seen him in years."

"Rigsby take Miss Mathis to get a formal statement please," Lisbon commanded to which he nodded and led her away, "Van Pelt, what does it say about Quinn?"

"Not much, he was in foster care till he was 18 then he was given a full scholarship to attend college," Van Pelt read, "but he dropped out last month for some reason… he lived in a dorm and moved out the day after he quit college, no listed address."

"Go talk to his professors, roommates, anyone who might know where he is," Lisbon told her to which she hurried off.

Lisbon sat still staring sadly into space as she recalled the last time she'd seen him, almost 12 years ago. It was one of her first cases with Bosco…

"_Lisbon!" Bosco called and the rookie Lisbon almost dropped her coffee as she rushed off to see what he wanted._

"_Yes boss?" _

"_You know the case we're working on?"_

"_Which one?" she questioned thinking of the heavy caseload she was still adapting too._

"_The Ricky Arrow case, where we think his wife killed him in self defense?" he told her and she nodded, "I want you to talk to the kid, he claims a burglar did it. You need to get him to be honest."_

"_Why me?" Lisbon wondered nervously._

"_Because he can relate to you, your Dad was a drunk too," Bosco hissed, "just please talk to him Teresa?"_

_Sighing she glanced over to the little boy sitting alone in the corridor and walked slowly towards him. He looked about 8 and was sitting cross-legged clutching a book to his chest; his head was bowed low with his black hair falling in front of his eyes. He looked up at her fearfully as she approached with a large pair of deep brown eyes as she sat on the seat next to him._

"_Hi Quinlan," she greeted him gently, "my name's Teresa Lisbon."_

"_It's Quinn, only my Dad calls me Quinlan," he explained looking down again and clutching his book tighter._

"_Sorry," she apologized wondering what she should say to him, "so what's that book you've got there?"_

"_A book," he said simply._

"_What's it about?"_

"_It's full of nursery rhymes," Quinn explained showing her 'Mother Goose's A-Z of Nursery Rhymes,' "Mommy reads me one every night before I fall asleep."_

"_That's nice of her," Lisbon complimented which earned her a shy smile, "which one is your favorite?"_

"_The magpie song," he answered happily, "what's you favorite?"_

"_That's a good one," Lisbon agreed smiling kindly at him, "but my favorite? Ring Around the Rosey." _

"_Did your Mommy read you nursery rhymes when you were a kid?" Quinn wondered._

"_Sort of, she died when I was young," Lisbon explained._

"_I'm sorry," he told her sympathetically, "that must have been bad."_

"_It was," she sighed, "and even worse was my Dad, he started drinking… You know."_

"_Your Dad drank too?" he repeated looking at her sadly._

"_Yes, I know what it's like," she answered gently looking into his eyes, "I know how hard it is… And if your Mommy did something to protect you both, then you can trust me. Tell me the truth Quinn, I promise it will be okay."_

"_But I don't want anything bad to happen to her," he protested as his eyes glistened with tears, "I love my Mommy."_

"_And she wouldn't want you to lie, would she?" Lisbon asked him putting her arm around him, "you only have one chance to make this right. It is always better to tell the truth, trust me, everything will be okay."_

"_I trust you," he whispered quietly as a tear rolled down his cheeks._

"_Then be honest. A burglar didn't really break into your house, did they?"_

"_No…"_

"Hey boss," Cho greeted her as he strolled back into the bullpen, "you okay?"

"Where's Lily? Is she okay? Did that bastard hurt her? Is she scared? Damn it, answer me Lisbon!" Hightower screeched becoming more and more frantic as she continued.

"She's right here," Jane announced from the doorway with Lily beside him.

"Oh baby!" Hightower exclaimed delightedly running to hug her daughter, "Mommy missed you, so much!"

"Err… yeah," Lily replied looking slightly confused, "can we go back to the house now? I need to be there."

"What? What house?" Hightower wondered.

"She thinks Quinn's gonna take her to Disney land," Lisbon answered and their eyes turned on her in shock, "that's his name? Right Lily?"

"Yep," Lily confirmed cheerily, "so you do remember him!"

"You ID'd him?" Hightower snapped, "why am I only hearing about this now?"

"We only found out, like five minutes ago," Lisbon complained before her cell phone rang which she answered nervously.

"_Just thought I should check in with you_," the killer greeted her happily.

"I know who you are Quinn," Lisbon said firmly shoving away images of him as a child.

"_It's just sad it's taken you all day to realize that_," he retorted unfazed.

"I'm sorry about your Mom, okay?" Lisbon apologized, "but it's not my fault she had an unsympathetic judge."

"_I know, that's why he's dead,_" Quinn stated calmly, "_but it's still your fault, you killed my Mother and all those other people. You're a monster."_

"What happened to your family does not justify murder," Lisbon told him firmly, "now please, just give yourself up, no one else has to die."

"_What happened to hunting me down and having me killed?"_ he mocked, "_or do you actually feel guilty now? You realize how you actions destroyed my life and ended my mother's? You're sorry_?"

"I'm sorry Quinn," she said sincerely and he fell silent for a long time, she hoped he was listening to what she said and spoke again, "now I know deep down you're a good person, you let Lily go, so please just give yourself up."

"_There's an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town_," he said finally, "_I'll text you the address… I'll wait here with Gold, I've proved my point. The day is done_."

With that he hung up on her, Lisbon wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not until true to his word a second later she received the text of the address. She felt so relieved he'd actually listened to her, while she was fully aware it was sick he had killed so many people she also felt partially responsible after all she had lied to him and in a way had ruined his life and no matter what anyone said the guilt gnawed away at her.

"Cho, get Rigsby and then call SWAT," she barked at him realizing they were all looking at her oddly, "he's given us an address and agreed to give himself up."

"Really?" they all repeated in amazement.

"Yes, I'll fill you in on the way. Boss, you'll have to talk to Van Pelt because I really have to go and arrest him now," Lisbon responded moving into action.

"I think I'll wait here, there's a cup of tea with my name on it," Jane announced cheerfully, "be careful guys."

"Then can I go back to wait for him? To take me to Disney land?" Lily pleaded hugging her stuffed dog tightly.

"Sweetie, I have to talk to you about that," Hightower stated sadly and Lisbon realized she had to tell her about her brother.

Shaking her head miserably she headed towards the elevator closely followed by Cho and Rigsby, they grabbed their bulletproof vests and then headed to the van. Rigsby drove as she filled them in about Quinn.

Her heart was pounding as they pulled up outside the address along with their host of SWAT, she wanted to make sure they got him. The sun was setting by this point and it created an eerie effect on the seemingly abandoned warehouse, as they drew closer she saw who she presumed to be Arnold Gold. He was sitting beside the door, dead with another arrow through his neck complete with 6 magpie feathers tied to the end of it. Sighing shakily she exited the vehicle and went to check for missing jewelry, she was no Patrick Jane but she noticed a tan line on his finger where his wedding ring should be. Her team and SWAT started moving into position and her cell phone ringing distracted her, which she hesitantly answered.

"_Stay outside, I don't want you to be the one to arrest me_," Quinn begged on the end of the line, sighing she relayed the information to Cho, "_thank you_."

"You heard us coming then," Lisbon stated growing bored as she was desperate to just have him beside her in handcuffs where he couldn't harm anyone else.

"_Yes,_" he affirmed sadly while Cho continued moving SWAT into position, "_and just for the hell of things, six for gold. I'm relieved it's finally over."_

"So am I."

"_In case I don't see Lily, can you tell her I'm sorry I can't take her to Disney land?" _Quinn asked politely in a way that reminded her of when he'd been a child.

"Fine, I'll tell her," Lisbon agreed.

"_Can you do me one last favor? Before everyone bursts in and arrests me?"_

"What?" Lisbon questioned, wondering what he could possibly want.

"_Sing me your favorite nursery rhyme_," Quinn pleaded as Cho and everyone else moved in, Lisbon shrugged and sang seeing no harm to it.

"Ring around the rosey  
A pocketful of posies  
Ashes, ashes  
We all fall down."

The warehouse exploded.


	7. Seven for a Secret, Never to be Told

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the mentalist, its characters, nursery rhymes and I get no money from this. Quinn is mine, the rest is merely borrowed

**Author's Note: **So here we are the final chapter and my personal favorite :) Thank you so much to Jisbon4ever and LAurore for reviewing :)

* * *

Jane finished his tea and wandered back into the bullpen where a tearful Lily was being comforted by her Mom. Jane pitied them both, he knew what it was like to lose a child and poor Lily was so young to loose her brother.

"It wasn't Quinn," Lily stated firmly, "he liked Ben."

"I know he seemed like that but-"

"No, he was nice to Ben," Lily protested hugging her stuffed dog tightly to her chest, "he said if I waited he'd pick me up after the fireworks and then we'd all go to Disney land."

"Fireworks?" Jane repeated moving over to them with a sudden ominous feeling, "what fireworks?"

"At the warehouse," she explained as if it were obvious, "he was going to give Teresa a firework show."

Jane and Hightower exchanged a sudden worrying look as his heart plummeted to his shoes, 'fireworks' didn't sound even remotely okay for someone was supposed to be giving himself up. Jane snatched his cell phone and dialed Lisbon's number in but no one answered. He tried Cho and Rigsby, still no answer before calling Lisbon again.

"Nobody's answering," Jane told Hightower anxiously, "Lisbon should be answering, they should be there by now."

"Maybe they're just enjoying the fireworks," Lily offered innocently.

"Get help now," Jane commanded Hightower not caring that she was his boss, "I'm going to the warehouse now," he added striding off desperately to the elevator, he so did not have a good feeling about this.

* * *

Lisbon was awakened by the irritating sound of car alarms screaming loudly at her, she blinked open her bleary eyes and realized she was lying on her on the ground. Her body ached all over as she stared at the smoking pile of rubble before her that had been a warehouse not too long ago. Vaguely she recalled talking to Quinn and then…

Wincing at how her body ached all over she struggled to get to her feet, she used the over turned van beside her to help her shaking legs stand up but slipped and fell back onto the dirt. That was when she noticed Cho lying a few feet away from her, his eyes were closed and she panicked wondering if he was alive. Was anyone? She'd been spared the full extent by being outside while Cho, Rigsby, SWAT and Quinn had been inside. She was suddenly glad Van Pelt was interviewing people and that Jane had stayed behind, he didn't even wear a bulletproof vest.

"Cho?" Lisbon tried to call out to him but found her throat was hoarse and it came out as barely a whisper, feeling slightly afraid she crawled towards him and gently shook his arm, "Cho, Cho… wake up."

She bit her lip terrified that one of her team might be dead but thankfully a second later he stirred and opened his eyes. She let out a relieved sigh as he sat up, clutching his left arm and surveyed the scene.

"Wow," Cho gasped after a minute, "I miss the days when serial killers were serial killers and they didn't kidnap children and blow up warehouses."

"So do I," Lisbon agreed finding her voice again and feeling pleased he was in good spirits, now she only had to worry about Rigsby and those others.

"Where's Rigsby?" Cho questioned looking concerned.

"I don't know," Lisbon shrugged sharing his concern, "I only woke up a minute ago, we need to get EMTs and firefighters and all that down here now… Do you have your cell phone? Mine must have thrown out of my hand."

"Mine too," Cho sighed, "do you think Quinn's dead?"

"He must be, we got rid of the GPS tracker so he had to have heard us coming from inside," Lisbon answered unsurely, "I think maybe this was some kind of bizarre suicide attempt."

"There were 15 SWAT personnel plus you, Rigsby and I," Cho informed her, "how many do you think he took with him?"

Lisbon didn't have an answer for him and was becoming increasingly worried about Rigsby, he was probably lying around in the rubble somewhere but whether dead or alive she didn't know. Sirens echoed in the distance and a minute later Jane's scrap heap car drove into view closely followed by paramedics and fire trucks, she allowed herself a relieved breath as a frantic Jane spied them and ran towards.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly searching her face with anxious eyes.

"I think so, I wasn't in the warehouse when it exploded," Lisbon explained and Jane nodded looking relieved.

"And you Cho?"

"Broken arm maybe, few scraps and burns but I'll live," he answered scanning watching as the firefighters started leafing through the ruins of the warehouse while paramedics rushed towards them to attend to them.

"And Rigsby?" Jane wondered and they both glanced at the rubble worriedly.

"I should've known better," Lisbon said half to herself, "why didn't I think that he was going to blow everyone up?"

"Because there's no such thing as psychics," Jane told her gently, "you can't possibly have predicted this."

"I'm the one that knows him, I should have known," Lisbon stated firmly feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt, "and why did he want me to live anyway?"

"Because he wanted you to suffer," Jane sighed looking distant, "and suffering's worse than death."

Lisbon could only nod distantly as paramedics began checking to see if she was okay and insisted on taking her to the hospital, which Jane surpisingly agreed with, so she did but made him stay and promise to call her if there was any news. She was driven there with Cho in one of the ambulances along with another man from SWAT who was found with one of his legs missing, she could only pray Rigsby would be okay.

They arrived at the hospital and she was taken to a ward and assessed, being a low priority as she only had a few bruises, cuts and a slight burn on her right hand that was now bandaged. She lay waiting desperate for any news and growing bored her guilt kicked in again, if she hadn't lied to Quinn all those years ago then none of this would have happened. She was surprised to find she felt a slight sadness at his death, despite what he had done she still found herself caring as if not for her then he would be okay along with all his victims.

Time dragged by, seconds became like hours and minutes dragged like days before finally Jane came strolling in. He came and pulled up a chair beside her.

"Well?" Lisbon wondered biting her lip in trepidation.

"Rigsby's alive," Jane told her and she sighed with relief, "but he was injured. He's in surgery now and the doctors think he'll be okay which is great."

"Yes it is," Lisbon agreed relaxing slightly, at least she didn't have the death of one of her team on her conscious.

"Of SWAT," Jane continued, "1 with minor injuries, 5 with serious injuries, 4 dead and 1 just died on the way to the hospital. 1 is trapped and they're working to get them out and the last 3 they think were incinerated in the blast along with Quinn."

"Not the best statistics," Lisbon sighed, "but it could be worse."

"I know, I'm sorry I wasn't there," Jane apologized looking slightly guilty.

"Don't be," Lisbon told him firmly, "I'm glad you weren't there, we were all in armor, you'd have had no protection whatsoever… You probably would have died, I am so glad you didn't die."

"I'm glad you didn't die too," Jane whispered quietly to her after a minute of contemplation and she glanced up into his eyes, trying to think of something to say and trying not to give into the sudden impulse to lean forwards and kiss him, how inappropriate would that be?

"Where's Wayne?" Van Pelt demanded to her relief, she never realized before that Jane had such magnetic eyes and- "how is he? Please tell me he's okay?"

"He's in surgery but doctors are pretty sure he'll be okay," Jane answered quickly jumping to his feet.

"Yes Grace, he should be fine," Lisbon affirmed hoping like mad she wasn't blushing.

Van Pelt looking beside herself with worry as she slumped into the chair Jane had been sitting on, seemingly ready to cry but didn't and instead just sad rocking slightly and gripping the seat for dear life. Jane sat down on another seat, which wasn't in the proximity to her to continue wondering whether or not she would kiss him.

Time continued to move slowly except this time it was more awkward than depressing, Van Pelt wasn't really in the mood for talking and she couldn't think of anything comforting to say apart from the usual 'he'll be fine' which sounded lame and hollow even though she did generally believe Rigsby would be okay. She longed to talk to Jane but on the other hand she was confused by her feelings and anyway, they couldn't talk with Van Pelt in the room and Jane would probably think she was overreacting anyway. The man was still in love with his wife for crying out loud!

"Anyone for Wayne Rigsby?" asked a young doctor walking over to them.

"Yes!" squealed Van Pelt jumping to her feet desperately, "how is he?"

"He's out of surgery," the man informed her, "barring surgical complications, he should hopefully make a full recovery."

"That's brilliant," exclaimed Van Pelt who looked ready to sink to the floor with relief, "can we see him?"

"Well… only one of you," the doctor stated, "and I'm guessing that would be you?"

"Yes please," Van Pelt said nodding her head, "thank you very much. I'll see you guys later and tell you how he is, bye."

"Wait doc!" Lisbon called him back, "since I'm okay can I go home yet?"

"Teresa Lisbon… yes, if you must," the man agreed reluctantly, "I'll have nurse Kendall come and get you discharged."

Lisbon inclined her head in gratitude as they left and a few minutes later the nurse came to give her the release forms and explain to her about the medical stuff, what to do if she started to feel dizzy or show any signs of a concussion etc. After a boring few minutes she was finally free to sign the release forms and leave, it had been a long day and she longed for nothing more than to go home.

"Want a ride?" Jane offered when she'd dressed, said goodbye to Cho who was staying for observation and joined Jane outside where it was now fully dark.

"Yeah sure," she agreed hesitantly due to her dislike of his driving but decided it was far better than paying the ridiculous cab fare.

They drove basically in silence; she still wanted to talk to him about earlier but had no idea on how to broach the subject and was pretty terrified of humiliating herself anyway.

"We're here," Jane announced and she realized she was outside her house.

"Thank you," Lisbon said nervously, "for the lift."

"No problem," he waved it off giving her his glowing smile, "will you be okay?"

"Of course," she stated defensively.

"I just mean its been a long exhausting day," he explained, "and a rough case… I don't know if you should be alone right now."

"I'll be fine," she affirmed feeling touched by his concern.

"Well if you need anything at all," he offered kindly, "then I'll be there, okay?"

"Because you'll always be there to save me, right?" she smiled remembering his past words.

"Yes," he agreed and she was again hypnotized by his eyes, damn the man for having such annoyingly wonderful eyes she thought realizing her lips were only inches away from his, "I'm glad you're okay Lisbon."

"I have to go," she forced herself to say and snapped her eyes away from his, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, yes," Jane agreed turning hurriedly away, "see you tomorrow."

Lisbon scrambled hurriedly out of the car before she could change her mind, she waved him goodbye and watched his car drive away wondering why she had done that. Shaking her head she added it to the list of things she regretted today and trudged into her house, besides Jane could never possibly have feelings for her. Feeling miserable again she thought of all the lives she'd had a hand in ending today as she wandered into her bedroom.

She reached out to flick on the light switch but was shocked beyond belief when someone grabbed her from behind, she tried to scream but he held a strange smelling cloth over her mouth with his hand.

"Hush, hush, hushabye,"

He sang in a painfully familiar voice as she violently turned her head from the cloth.

"Hush, my babe, no danger nigh,"

He continued singing, unfazed as his other arm held her too tightly to break free of.

"As in your cradle now you swing,"

The words sounded so soothing as he held the cloth back in place and she started to feel tired.

"Until you sleep I softly sing,"

His voice was so musical and the smell was so sweet, her limbs were becoming increasingly heavy.

"Hush, hushabye,"

At the conclusion of the lullaby her flickering eyelids gently closed and her body collapsed limply in his arms, with her last hint of consciousness she heard Quinn's voice whisper into her ear.

"Seven for a secret, never to be told…"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Ha, ha I am so evil! So many unanswered questions and that IS the end of the story but don't worry I was/am going to do a sequel but only if people are interested! ;)


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